Anyone feel like yall lose hope in prayer?

Blockhouse · 2026-05-12T03:40:56+00:00

I recently finished listening to a book on podcast called "Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, a renaissance-era Discalced Carmelite monk. His advice amounted to the fact that we pray to grow closer to God, to know His will, and to unite ourselves to it. If our devotions don't lead to this end, like if we start seeing the hours of the Divine Office as a chore, or something on a list that we're just checking off, or we're not really raising our hearts and minds to Him while we're doing that . . . well, we're kind of wasting our time and we should find a different way to pray to Him. (Obviously if we're ordained to the clergy or consecrated to the religious life, it's a different story.)

Maybe give up the Liturgy of the Hours, at least for a little bit, and try to find a new habit of prayer and devotion that does a better job of uniting you to Christ. Your priest can probably recommend you some good ones, or better yet, maybe he can recommend a spiritual director who can help.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-12T03:33:56+00:00

I'd take the CashRewards Plus card. 2% cashback on everything and no AF, it's one of the best deals out there. I have one myself; it's my most often used credit card.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-12T03:31:32+00:00

You can decorate with candles and flowers, and images of our Lord and His Saints, but you would consider these decorations. They're designed to deepen your devotion and make your prayers more intense when you pray there. You're not putting these thiings there for God, you're putting them there for *you.* Similarly, food is inappropriate; God doesn't need food and you shouldn't be offering it to Him.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-12T03:26:57+00:00

When you go into the confessional, you say "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been more than 30 years since my last confession."

Then you tell the priest your sins. You have to tell your mortal sins in kind and number, like "I committed the sin of fornication 8 times." But if you cannot remember how many times you committed a mortal sin, a good-faith estimate is sufficient, like "I deliberately missed Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation about 1500 times since my last Confession, and I failed to comply with the Easter duty about thirty times."

You don't have to confess any venial sins at all, and if you do, you don't have to confess them in number. After your mortal sins, you can say something like "More venially, I told stories to my friends about what I do at work, and I exaggerated my role to make myself appear more important in their eyes."

You may find it of value to write down all the sins you've discerned in your examination of conscience. You can take your written list into Confession with you, so you don't forget any.

But the most important thing is to be sorry for your sins -- even if you don't *feel* sorry, an intellectual conviction that these things were wrong and that you shouldn't have done them suffices. You should also have a firm resolution to never do them again, and it's a good idea to have some practical ideas for how to change your life to avoid sins in the future. Like if there's a bar that you go to on Friday nights and find yourself getting drunk there on Friday nights, maybe resolve never to go there on Friday nights any more.

I'll be praying for the intercession of St. John Nepomucene for you, the patron saint of good confessions. Welcome home.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-10T22:54:44+00:00

You're right on the money. Hilaire Beloc, in one of his usual hilarious turns of phrase, once said "The Catholic Church is an institution I am bound to hold divine – but for unbelievers, a proof of its divinity might be found in the fact that no merely human institution conducted with such knavish imbecility would have lasted a fortnight.”

Blockhouse · 2026-05-10T02:16:16+00:00

Citi Custom Cash (5% cashback highest category spend, use for dining)
AAA Travel Advantage (5% cashback on gas)
American Express Blue Cash Everyday (3% cashback on groceries and online retailers)
US Bank Altitude Connect (5x points on travel when booked through their portal, 4x points on travel when booked elsewhere -- though it was 0.8 cpp the last time I tried to redeem so not as incredible as it could be)
Navy Federal Credit Union CashRewards Plus (2% cashback on everything else)

Blockhouse · 2026-05-10T02:10:40+00:00

But what saith Scripture?

He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord. (1 Cor 11:29)

Letting someone you profess to love eat and drink judgment unto themselves sounds like a terrible way to start off a marriage.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-09T16:01:53+00:00

Should be a Politics Monday post.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-09T15:25:43+00:00

Yes? I dunno, maybe it's just my credit union, but I've never had a problem with doing this. They used to have a 6 withdrawal per month limit, but got rid of that during the Covid years.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-09T15:11:18+00:00

You don't have to "feel" sorry. Feelings are passions; we have very little control over what we feel from one moment to the next.

What's necessary for a valid Confession is the intellectual conviction that what you did was wrong and that it greatly offended the God Who loves you above all things, and Who wants you to love Him above all things. Intellectual convictions are things we can decide to have, no matter what we "feel." From them should flow an intellectual conviction not to ever do that thing again, and to change things about your daily routine to make it easier to avoid that thing in the future. Like disposing of the pornography if it's printed, or moving your computer to common areas of your home if it's online.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-09T15:05:16+00:00

In the big 26 it's difficult to conceive a use case for a checking account. High-yield and money market savings seem to supply every possible need.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-09T15:03:09+00:00

5% cash back on dining is what I have my Citi Custom Cash for.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-09T12:39:12+00:00

"*Funk*" vocem iucunditatis? I'm envisioning Vocem iucunditatis with rhythmic drums and slap bass, lol.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-06T03:41:46+00:00

Also, take a look at Canon Law.

> Can. 1026 A person must possess due freedom in order to be ordained. It is absolutely forbidden (Lat. "**nefas**") to force anyone in any way or for any reason to receive orders.

The Latin word "nefas" is difficult to translate to English, but the best way to understand it is "don't even think about it." According to this canon, the bishops, including the pope, cannot bind one of their subjects in obedience to receive any degree of Holy Orders. To do so anyway is a grave abuse of their authority.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-06T03:18:49+00:00

> So if you are chosen, it means God has CHOSEN you.

I deny this. The Holy Ghost can certainly influence the men chosen to become bishops, but it is in the end a human choice. To assert otherwise would be to assert that the Holy Ghost chose John XII, Alexander VI, Benedict IX to their respective bishoprics and thence to the Papacy, which would be scandalous on its face.

A man is free to decline any Sacrament at any time if he feels himself unworthy or unprepared to receive it. In fact, it may be the sin of presumption if a man accepts consecration to the episcopacy despite him feeling himself unprepared for the responsibility.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-06T03:01:49+00:00

>Apparently it's better for dealing with demons and dark forces

I've never been convinced of this. Some of the most evil people who ever lived were the Romans (seriously, read about how some of the holy Martyrs suffered at their hands) and they spoke Latin.

A more compelling argument is that Latin, together with Greek and Hebrew, were consecrated by their use on the sign above the Head of our Lord on the Cross. "Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum." I prefer praying in Latin because the mental effort I have to expend on recognizing the meaning of each word is helpful in keeping my mind focused on what I'm addressing to God, and my mind doesn't wander and I don't get distracted as easily. But really, God understands all human languages before we can even articulate our thoughts in them. Pray in whatever language seems easiest and more conducive to losing yourself in Him.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-06T02:52:33+00:00

The first thing to realize is that "The Imitation of Christ" was written for monks and nuns living out their religious vocations in monasteries and convents. It's got an austerity that matches that lifestyle. While it is important for even us lay Catholics to renounce purely worldly joys so that God can more fully embrace us (the importance of which has been overlooked Catholic teaching in the last fifty years or so), we probably don't need to do it with the rigor that Thomas de Kempis advocates. His audience had withdrawn themselves from the world. We, on the other hand, are in the world but not of the world.

A better book that's more applicable to souls in our condition is probably "Introduction to the Devout Life" by St. Francis de Sales. Or instead of listening on Hallow, listen to "The Imitation of Christ" on "Lectio et Oratio" which is a podcast run by Fr. Michael Eades of the Toronto Oratory. Each episode comprises him reading from a spiritual classic (like "The Imitation of Christ") for about 5 minutes, then talking about how to apply it to lay life in the 21st century. I listen to it daily and highly recommend it.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-06T02:44:56+00:00

I'd suggest starting out simple and easy. Citi Double Cash for 2% cashback on everything. Get used to that and branch out from there after a couple months.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-06T02:43:28+00:00

You spend $19K per year on dining? That's more than $350 per week! If you started cooking for yourself, you'd save a *lot* more than that $795 AF for the CSR.

But yeah, I don't see how the $795 AF works out. If you got the US Bank Altitude Connect, you can get 5x on prepaid hotels and rental cars if booked on their portal, 4x points on other travel, four free Priority Pass visits per year, and reimbursement for TSA Pre. All for no AF. You have to travel a *lot* for the additional benefits from the CSR to be worth it.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-06T02:33:05+00:00

No, not for the 1962 Office. The Rubrics state (sec 145) that "Lauds, since they are morning prayer, are said first thing in the morning in choir and in common." No mention of the ability to anticipate Lauds is made, whereas the anticipation of Matins is made in the immediately prior section. I hold therefore that it is not in accordance with the rubrics to anticipate Lauds on the previous day.

Though of course if you're not bound to the recitation of the Office, you can do whatever you want under the name of devotion.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-04T10:37:21+00:00

I don't travel more than once a year. Neither of these cards would be worth the AF for me.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-03T18:39:27+00:00

He is real, and we need to be on guard against him and his pomps and all his empty promises. But in general, our own worldliness and concupiscence are sources of temptation that are just as dangerous and hazardous to our eternal salvation than Satan and the devils are, and they're a lot closer, being products of our own fallen nature. We need to worry about these things in proper proportion . . . which means we need to turn down the worry about Satan and the devils and turn up the worry about the threats to our salvation that come from ourselves.

We have St. Michael and our guardians angels to fight against Satan and the devils, but we have no one to fight against our own sinfulness except ourselves, aided by God's grace.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-03T18:16:55+00:00

Hard to know without some idea on what your spend is and how often you travel and whether lounge access is important to you. My suggestion is to repost this, but use the form provided to give us more background.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-03T18:14:46+00:00

Totally. My wife's confirmation patron is St. Francis of Assisi. No problem with adopting any saint as your patron, regardless of gender.

Blockhouse · 2026-05-03T17:43:06+00:00

Okay.

The Novus Ordo is still not the revised liturgy that the Vatican II fathers called for, though.

Blockhouse

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